{Noncoherent, and Almost Nonexistent Review} Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

Seventy-Thousand-Billion Stars out of Five Stars

This is the cover of one of the most brilliant and hilarious books of our time.

This is what the summary says:

This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative--like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it--but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:

Pictures

Words

Stories about things that happened to me

Stories about things that happened to other people because of me

Eight billion dollars*

Stories about dogs

The secret to eternal happiness*

*These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!

Have you read a better summary than that? Now, add these lumpy creatures that are humans and vivid and detailed creatures that are animals. Also, it's hilarious.  That's all I can say that's slightly coherent. Just trust me and stop everything you've ever done and read Hyperbole and a Half.

Thank you, Edelweiss, for giving me the amazing opportunity of reviewing this book, even though it took me months to actually gather my thoughts together. 

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[Mini Review] The Diary of Edward the Hamster 1990–1990 by Miriam Elia (Illustrator) and Ezra Elia

Five Stars

The darkly comic musings of a deeply thoughtful rodent—the perfect gift for pet lovers and anguished existentialists of all ages.

The shortest book I've read in the past few years? This book. One of the of the best books I've read in the past few years? This one.

It took less than ten minutes to finish it, but the emotions and the thought and the brilliance behind it is more than most books. I can barely write a logical review, because it's just so good.

We go through Edward's entire life. He sits in his cage, mentally figuring out things that even the wisest people don't understand. He seems to interpret things childishly, even if it's in a darker sense of mind.

This is filled with hilarious and amazing quotes. The pictures are simple, but are great accompaniment to this memoir.

I can barely saying anything without spoiling this novel, since it's so short, but I can say this: If you value your life, you'll go and read this book as soon as you can. I'm not threatening anyone, but I'm just going to hint at what your fate will be if you don't.

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The Sea of Tranquility by: Katja Millay

Five Stars

ARC received from Netgalley. This review is not biased in any way. There was no money, gifts, discounts, or favors exchanged for this review.

I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to                                             give you your space.

                                          Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

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Series Review: Horrorscape Trilogy by Nenia Campbell

Five Stars

Summary of First Book:

He followed her because he wanted to own her. She trusted him because she wanted excitement. There's a saying that curiosity can kill … but Valerian Kimble is beginning to learn that satisfaction might just be worse.

Fourteen-year-old Valerian lives in an age where antiheroes and bad boys are portrayed as the romantic ideal, and good guys are passe and boring. So when Gavin Mecozzi, the school's brilliant but twisted loner, begins to show an interest in her after a chance meeting in a pet store, Val is intrigued. He's charming and poetic and makes her feel things that she thought were only possible in books--

Fear.

Because somebody is stalking Val. Somebody who wants to hurt her. Own her. Possess her. Maybe even kill her.

As her meetings with Gavin unravel into a more complex and frightening relationship, Val can't help but wonder if the new boy in her life is her depraved and obsessive stalker.

And whether he's capable of murder.

Time is running out.

 Add the series to your Goodreads. Seriously. Do it.

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The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) by: Julie Kagawa

Five Stars

Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.

 I'm not sure whether or not I hate Julie Kagawa right now. She has a gift of making her worlds and characters realistic. She also has a gift of ripping your heart out of your chest and smashing it into little pieces because of those tear-inducing pages she calls an ending.

Allison is looking for Kanin, the vampire that turned her. In Immortal Rules, he has been captured, but we didn't focus on that a lot. On her way, she finds Jackal, her Blood Brother, and the two decide to work together.

I mentioned in a previous review how annoying it was to write a five star review, because I usually focus on a book's faults more than I do benefits. In The Eternity Cure, I could find little to no faults, so this will probably be a short review.

I completely adore Allison. I like her so much I'm hosting her for the YA Fiesty Female Tourney. I mean, she uses a katana. How many YA heroines do you know that can use a weapon, let alone fight?

The bottom line is that this series is amazing, and you should definitely read it. Seriously, if you haven't read Immortal Rules, go out and buy it.

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Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Five Stars

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfill her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina

contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance.

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A Tale Dark & Grimm (A Tale Dark & Grimm #1) by Adam Gidwitz

Five Stars

In this mischievous and utterly original debut, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm-inspired tales. As readers follow the siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind (and beyond) the bread crumbs, edible houses, and outwitted witches.

Fairy tales have never been more irreverent or subversive as Hansel and Gretel learn to take charge of their destinies and become the clever architects of their own happily ever after.

A delightful and thoroughly entertaining tale, A Tale Dark & Grimm takes elements from the original Brothers Grimm book and adds a new spin. The book is a collection of bloody yet charming stories that follow the adventures of Hansel and Gretel. Yes, that Hansel and Gretel. The ones that pushed a witch into the oven. That story isn't where tale ends, or even begins, though.

The books opens before their birth. The book talks about how their parents met and how they averted tragedy. After those two or three chapters, it starts talking about Hansel and Gretel.

I don't know about you, but I never liked the story of Hansel and Gretel. It wasn't because it was violent. I think it was because Hansel and Gretel seemed so idiotic. I mean, if you walk into the woods and find a house made out of candy, are you really going to start eating. Seriously, think of all those germs! And yes, I was a strange child, caring about mud and dirt on clothes. I didn't even like sweets.

Before I give you an entire essay about how weird I was a kid, and how crazy I still am, I should probably start talking about the book.

Hansel and Gretel started as naive little children. Their parents were the king and queen of the Land of Grimm. One day, the king and queen had to cut off their heads to bring someone back to life. Yeah, just casually take an ax and chop off the heads of their only children. No biggie.

Around five minutes later, after they brought said dead person back to life, he tells them that Hansel and Gretel can come back to life. This was the part where I was reminded of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Xena: Warrior Princess, because three people came back to life in the first part of the book.

Naturally, Hansel and Gretel were a bit pissed at their parents for killing them. Just a little. Not enough to- you know- run away into the scary world filled with murderers and thieves and cannibals and- most important- germs. Oh wait. Never mind. They did run away. And thus begins the start of their adventures to find good parents, and later on- yeah, I'm not telling you people. Find it out yourselves. And read the book.

I really liked how there was so much character growth to Hansel and Gretel. They started out as childish children and ended up as mature children. The changes in the characters were slow, and I didn't even realize it was happening until the book ended. So I did what anyone else would do: I reread the book and completely psycho-analyzed it. I'm talking about sticky notes filled with every little detail of what the author chose could possibly mean.

Talking about Adam Gidwitz, there is a lot of commentary in this book. At first, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not, but then decided it added on to the story. Gidwitz is basically talking to the audience throughout the entire story. So, 7th grade Language Arts teacher who told me I couldn't talk to the audience, I prove you wrong.

My favorite parts of the story were probably all of the bloody and gruesome parts. I mean- the message. Totally the message of courage. Not the wonderful killing parts. Because that would be weird. And I am most certainly not weird. I'm the normal-est person ever.

Basically, read this book. It's really, really good.

Now, some of my favorite quotes:

“You see, to find the brightest wisdom one must pass through the darkest zones. And through the darkest zones there can be no guide. 

No guide, that is, but courage” 

“Once upon a time, fairy tales were AWESOME!”  

“You see, Hansel and Gretel don’t just show up at the end of this story.

They show up.

And then they get their heads cut off.

Just thought you’d like to know.”  

Seriously, go get this book.

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My Sister's Keeper By: Jodi Picoult

Five Stars

New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult is widely acclaimed for her keen insights into the hearts and minds of real people. Now she tells the emotionally riveting story of a family torn apart by conflicting needs and a passionate love that triumphs over human weakness. Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate—a life and a role that she has never challenged...until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister—and so Anna makes a decision that for

most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.

My Sister’s Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child’s life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less? Should you follow your own heart, or let others lead you? Once again, in My Sister’s Keeper, Jodi Picoult tackles a controversial real-life subject with grace, wisdom, and sensitivity.

At first, I wasn't going to write  a review of this. My Sister's Keeper deals with a controversial issue and is very confusing. However, I figured that if I can write "mean" book reviews and not care if people hate it, I can write a book review about this book.

Anna Fitzgerald is a thirteen year old girl that has had blood transfusions, shots, and surgeries. It is not Anna that is sick though, but her older sister, Kate. The medical procedures were to help Kate live a little longer. In fact, the reason Anna was born was to be Kate's donor. One day, she gets pushed too far. Her parents are asking her to give up a kidney for Kate. Anna gets a lawyer to sue her parents for medical emancipation.

There are valid arguments of why Anna should donate her blood and why she shouldn't. Both make you think a lot. Sometimes, you might hate Anna for being selfish, but other times, you'd cheer her on. Either way, this book makes you think a lot.

The characters of My Sister's Keeper were well developed. They all had their own issues they needed to deal with.

There was a main plot of this book, which was Anna suing her parents, but there were other subplots, unlike in many other books.

Campbell Alexander, the lawyer of Anna, was very fun to read. He has a service dog, and he tells many people different explanations of why he has the dog. Over the course of the book, he changes from an uncaring jerk to a caring one.

I both hated and admired Sara Fitzgerald. She did everything she could to save one child, but what about the others?

I really enjoyed the multiple point of views in this book. 

When I started reading, I was expecting a serious book. I read what I thought I would read, but there were also a couple of jokes in there, which I did not expect. It didn't take away the seriousness of the book but actually lightened it a little bit.

And the ending. I know most reviews talk about the ending, but it was very unexpected. Well, it was unexpected to everyone except for me because my friend ruined it for me. I'm looking at you, Tiny Korean.

If you read this book, and I really recommend you do, you really have to keep an open mind. If you don't you're probably going to hate it a lot. And, if you didn't understand the hints in this review, this is not a quick and light read. You're going to sit and think of what you might have done in their situation and change your mind a lot.

I am definitely going to read Picoult's other books. Her writing style is very interesting and is hard to pull off, but she does.

Read this is you want a compelling book. However, do not read it out in public. You'll probably start crying, and that's not embarrassing at all.

And now, some of my favorite quotes from this book. I think I'll start doing this in reviews.

“You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not.”

“Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it's not because they enjoy solitude. It's because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.” 

“Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it.” 

“The bottom line is that we never fall for the people we're supposed to.” 

“It is the things you cannot see coming that are strong enough to kill you.” 

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{Mini Review} Divergent (Divergent #1) by: Veronica Roth

Five Stars
 

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series--dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

One of my most favorite things as a reader is finding good books. One of my least favorite things as a blogger is finding good books. Why? Because for one star books, I can rant and complain. For five star books, it is impossible for me to find bad things. Or its really difficult.

Divergent is one of those books that I can find bad things if I try. But I really like the premise of it. Compared to most of the YA dystopians, this is really good.

I like Tris. At first, I thought she would be one of those wimpy heroines that were being "tough". (Running around swooning over stalker guys.) But she actually learned how to fight and wouldn't be pushed around by anyone.

I really enjoyed the world building. It seems well thought out.

Four is very interesting to read about. Aside from the fact that I don't really think the name "Four" is that sexy or dangerous, Four is a great character. The build up between Tris and Four seems real and not hurried.

The writing flowed smoothly. Everything seemed very vivid.

The plot moved well. There was actually a high point to the story, unlike so many others.

The ending was really good. It wasn't a cliffhanger, thank God, but it left me wanting more.

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Splintered by A.G. Howard

Five Stars

Goodreads Summary: 

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Hey, Alice in Zombieland? This is how you write an Alice retelling.

Alyssa, the protagonist, can hear bugs and flowers. Of course, she thinks she's insane, just like her mother. And, again, of course, she's not. Alyssa's ancestor is Alice Liddell, from Alice in Wonderland. She goes through the mirror, and she finds herself in Wonderland. This book put a spin on the Wonderland we know of. It's not happy and carefree; it's dangerous. There, she tries to fix the Alice's mistakes. However, Jeb, her crush, comes along for the ride. Like all popular books, this has a love triangle. Morpheus is from her past. Alyssa doesn't know if she can trust him or not, which is one of the main reasons I like her.

Like I said before, Alyssa is very easy to like. She doesn't do whatever people tell her to do. Her personality was easy to relate to. 

I didn't like Jeb as much as Morpheus because he seemed to tell Alyssa what to do all the time. Being the great heroine she is, she does what she wants.

Morpheus is Alyssa's "guide" through Wonderland. I put guide in quotation marks because he left her alone most of the time to figure things out. He also believed in her, unlike Jeb. He's the Caterpillar, or this book's version, at least.

The writing was great, and I didn't realize until half way through that it was in present tense, It was that good. The descriptions were amazing. I could "see" everything happening in front of me. The world-building was awesome.


There's twists through out this book that I felt like I should have seen. As Teresa Mary Rose puts it, " It doesn't follow a straight line with easy connect the dots; it is more of a maze where the floor can fall out at any moment and descend into madness." All the loose ends were tied up very well. I really hope this is a series because I'd love to see more of this world.

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Everbound (Everneath #2) by: Brodi Ashton

Five Stars

Goodreads Summary:

Nikki Beckett could only watch as her boyfriend, Jack, sacrificed himself to save her, taking her place in the Tunnels of the Everneath for eternity — a debt that should’ve been hers. She’s living a borrowed life, and she doesn’t know what to do with the guilt. And every night Jack appears in her dreams, lost and confused and wasting away.

Desperate for answers, Nikki turns to Cole, the immortal bad boy who wants to make her his queen — and the one person least likely to help. But his heart has been touched by everything about Nikki, and he agrees to assist her in the only way he can: by taking her to the Everneath himself.

Nikki and Cole descend into the Everneath, only to discover that their journey will be more difficult than they’d anticipated — and more deadly. But Nikki vows to stop at nothing to save Jack — even if it means making an incredible sacrifice of her own.

In this enthralling sequel to Everneath, Brodi Ashton tests the bonds of destiny and explores the lengths we’ll go to for the ones we love.

Oh my God. How does she do that? Spin me along for an amazing ride and leave me hanging, why don't you?

Whoever has never read this series, go and buy the first book now.

Nikki is still really sad over Jack, which is understandable. There's some complaining, but it's just enough that it feels real. 

I'm not sure if I want to kill Cole, right now. At the ending, what he did shocked me. We did get some of his history, though.

Jack isn't in this book a lot, but he's really important. Like, the entire book is written to find him. Nikki uses memories as a thread to find him, and I really enjoyed reading those. 

The Everneath was designed perfectly. There was even a map in the beginning of the book. I like how it was made into circles, since I have never read anything with the world made out of circles.

There are some twists in this book, and some of them make you wonder how you didn't see what would happen before.

The pacing was very good. We got some more action in this book.

The ending was amazing. The cliffhanger was really well done, but I can't wait for the next book now. I'll probably hound the publisher for the next book. How many emails is considered stalking, again?

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From Bad to Cursed (Bad Girls Don't Die #2) by Katie Alender

Five Stars

Goodreads Summary: 

Alexis is the last girl you'd expect to sell her soul. She already has everything she needs--an adorable boyfriend, the perfect best friend, and a little sister who's finally recovering after being possessed by an evil spirit, then institutionalized. 
Alexis is thrilled when her sister joins a club; new friends are just what Kasey needs. It's strange, though, to see how fast the girls in The Sunshine Club go from dorky and antisocial to gorgeous and popular. Soon Alexis learns that the girls have pledged an oath to a seemingly benevolent spirit named Aralt. Worried that Kasey's in over her head again, Alexis and her best friend Megan decide to investigate by joining the club themselves. At first, their connection with Aralt seems harmless. Alexis trades in her pink hair and punky clothes for a mainstream look, and quickly finds herself reveling in her newfound elegance and success. 
Instead of fighting off the supernatural, Alexis can hardly remember why she joined in the first place. Surely it wasn't to destroy Aralt...why would she hurt someone who has given her so much, and asked for so little in return?

Apparently, this series doesn't focus on both evil dolls and ghosts. It just focuses on bad ghosts. I feel kind of stupid for not realizing that. But I wouldn't change it, at all.

Alexis isn't one of the people that are immune to everything bad. For example, if this was another book, Alexis would be the only person not influenced by Aralt. However, she is a one of a kind, too. She fights back, eventually.

We also get to learn a little more about Alexis's hobby, photography.

There's also some more bonding with Kasey, her sister. In the first book, there wasn't, since she was possessed and all.

Aralt is sort of like a voice in her mind. He tells her all the right things to say.

Carter stalks Alexis, now. It's not that he wants to. With Aralt telling her the things to say, she turned him into some sort of loving stalker. There might be another love interests. I'm not sure, though.

The writing flowed really well. The development of Alexis was very subtle. Also, the plot was perfectly paced.

The ending left enough so there had to be another book. I'm going to give my librarian one week to get it, and if she doesn't, I'm going to buy it myself.

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Bad Girls Don't Die (Bad Girls Don't Die #1) By: Katie Alender

Five Stars

Goodreads Summary:

Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude. When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house is changing, too. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in. 
Alexis wants to think that it's all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening--to her, her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she's the only person who can stop Kasey -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

Am I the only person that thinks the title is stupid? But the cover was sort of pretty. I wasn't going to read this until my friend shoved it into my face and threatened me to read it. 

Alexis is a great main character. She's really spunky, and I like her. The way the author wrote her voice really made me relate to her. 

Kasey being posessed was really interesting to read about. This girl made me realize  I wasn't crazy for hating dolls. 

The love interest, Carter, was awesome. He didn't take up Alexis's entire thoughts. A great thing this story does is that romance doesn't take up the entire plot. It's only a little important.

The way the back story was fed in was awesome. It wasn't just dumped; we found out about it a little at a time.

Megan Wiley, the cheerleader, isn't the typical annoying blonde. She's really important in this story.

The plot moved along at a satisfactory pace.

I'm definitely buying the next two books. I want to know what happens next to Alexis.

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Everneath by: Brodi Ashton

Five Stars

Goodreads Summary: 

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned--to her old life, her family, her boyfriend--before she's banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance--and the one person she loves more than anything. But there's just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's queen.

Everneath is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.

Yay! It's a pretty cover without terrible things inside!

I liked how it was like two Greek mythology retelling rolled up into one: Persephone&Hades and Orpheus.

You know how in Evermore, Ever complains over nothing? Here, Nikki has a very good reason to complain, but she doesn't. Yep. You heard that right: the usual complaining found in YA stories was not in here!

 Every character in this book seemed to have real issues. They were also well developed, unlike in so many other stories.

 Nikki came back damaged, but slowly regained her emotions again. I really liked how Nikki wasn't blaming anyone for her troubles. She could have just blamed Jack for everything and let herself wallow in self pity, but she didn't. Neither was she sitting around waiting for a guy to help her. She tried to deal with them. 

Cole was confusing. I didn't know if he really liked Nikki, or he was just trying to rule the Everneath. He's one of those bad boy heroes, but Ashton makes us sympathetic to him. He sort of evil. Sometimes, though, we see a glimpse of another side of him.

Jack is a really sweet person. He's perfect for Nikki. He didn't give up on Nikki at all, which was great. 

The love triangle looks like I'm going to like it. I usually hate them, apart from Jennifer Armentrout's, but this one looks awesome.

Nikki tries to get redemption. That's the plot. It sounds really simple, but Ashton makes it awesome. One of my favorite things in this plot is that it comes first, not the romance. There were also a lot of surprises that I felt like I should have guessed.

The pacing is really smooth. Everything falls into place. The switching from the past to the present should have confused me, but I really like it.

The ending is great in the sense that everything is tied up with just enough to make a next book. However, its a sad ending.

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Angelfall by: Susan Ee

Five Stars

Goodreads Summary:

It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.


Most of the angel books I've read are pretty bad. So when I saw this one, I didn't immediately jump for it. Actually, I was going to pass on it. I'm so glad I didn't. I found my favorite book I read in 2012. 

The beginning was a great hook, and pulled me right in. The main plot actually started in the beginning, instead of starting near the end, like so many other books. Susan Ee has written an amazing debut novel.

The characters were amazing. They seemed real and not a cardboard cutout.

 Penryn is a great heroine that can fight and usually thinks before she acts. She doesn't stop trying to find her sister throughout the entire book, which is an admiring trait of her's. 

Penryn's mother is supposed to be crazy, and she definitely seemed like it. I like how her schizophrenia waxes and wanes unexpectedly.

 Raffe can hide secrets very well, and it makes him all the more interesting. And he's agnostic. How did she think of that?

 I loved the banter between Raffe and Penryn. Their relationship wasn't instant. It grew over the time they spent together and seemed natural.

There are a few gruesome scenes. I kinda like that stuff. Does that make me insane? Probably not. There are other people that like horror movies too, right? Anyways, back to the part where I'm not a serial killer and there are some pretty weird scenes. Susan Ee wrote in lots of detail so I could picture what she was writing about in my head.

The fight scenes were great. An author finally did her research! 

Not only that, the Nephilims are actually bad, like they're supposed to be.

The ending is completely epic and is making me stalk the author's website for the release date.

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Opal By:Jennifer Armentrout

5 Stars: Perfect

Goodreads Summary:

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

No. No, no, no. Absolutely not. I'm missing pages. I have to be. There is no way I'm just left with that ending! How do you expect me to cope until July?

Besides that evil ending, Opal is great. It's better, even, than Onyx. 

Katy's still amazing, as always. Daemon has grown over the series. Dee and Katy's friendship is really weak. Blake's back, and Daemon still can't remember his name. And Dawson's back.

Daemon isn't that much of a jerk anymore. He's not as moody and can actually talk to people without shutting them out. He shows a vulnerable side to himself and is sweeter. 

Dee was pretty awesome in this book. I get why she didn't just forgive Katy when Adam died, and I admire her for that. 

Blake came back. And I cannot believe I didn't see what he did coming. I wanted to like him, and I sort of did for a while, but then, like always, he ruins it. 

Dawson came back, but he's not the same. He's a shell of the man-alien?-he used to be. When he *******spoiler******* saw Beth again, I was shocked that she recognized him.

The plot dragged a bit, but the characters and the ending made up for it.

Armentrout's writing, as always, is amazing.

I really hope that the release date will move up for Origin!

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Anna Dressed in Blood by: Kendare Blake

Five Stars: Perfect

Goodreads Summary:

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

See, I don't scare easy. But I like scary things. So when I found this book, I immediately started to read it. It picked me up right from the start with Cass hunting a ghost. He's a great narrator.

Anna had a terrible story before she died, and there was a reason why she was evil. It wasn't like she just woke up one day and decided to be bad. She was forced to and kept fighting it. Anna was like two sides of a coin: both a murderer and a victim, like so many real people.

You didn't know the actual villain until the middle of the book. Sure, there was Anna, but she didn't really count since she turned good and all. He was a strange and interesting character.

The plot was well developed. There were very little plot holes. It was fast paced and full of action.

All the characters seemed three-dimensional. They seemed to shape the plot, instead of the plot shaping them. They weren't cliched at all. The ghosts were really interesting.

The writing was great. I never knew it was possible to make something so terrible written well. Everything flowed easily. The word choices were really good.

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Pure By:Jennifer L. Armentrout

Five Stars: Perfect

Goodreads Summary:

There is need. And then there is Fate
Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn't exactly awesome--especially when Alexandria's "other half" is everywhere she goes. Seth's in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom--so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do--and sacrifice--for her.
When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies--lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn't blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude or killing her.
When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone.


Pure has everything a book needs: action, suspense, romance, and comedy. It left me craving for more.

I still love Alex. She's a greatcharacter, and, like I said in my review of Half-Blood, she's not perfect. Even if she's not, Alex doesn't deserve all the pain she's gotten. But she's strong all the way through.

I found out more about Seth. Well, sort of. He's still a mystery, but I really like him. He and Alex have a special sort of connection. I like all the sides of him. Also, Seth was there for Alex when Aiden wasn't.

Speaking of Aiden, I got angry at him, sometimes. However, he's the sort of guy you can't stay angry at. He's an admirable character and I like the lengths he takes to make sure the things- or ones- he loves stays safe.

The plot of the story was a definite page turner. It was so fast-paced and action-packed.There are also so many twists and shockers. I think my jaw dropped at least twenty times. There's also a lot of heat between the characters.

I can't say to much, or it will spoil everything, but I think this book was better than the first. Now, I'm off to the next book.

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Onyx By: Jennifer Armentrout

Five Stars: Perfect

Goodreads Summary:

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…



If Obsidian was great, Onyx was breath-taking. It was more intense, more brutal, and more surprising.

Onyx was funny. There's witty banter between Katy and Daemon. And it's better that Obsidian's.

Katy is witty and feisty. She lives up to the nick-name, Kitten. She's fierce and protective. Sadly, not everyone can be perfect. This was one my favorite aspects of this novel. If you don't give someone flaws, you can't relate to them. Therefore, you dislike them. She made some big mistakes, but doesn't ignore them. They shape her into a better person. Katy was always strong, but she's a fighter, now.

We've all seen Daemon's protective and charming side. But now, Jennifer shows a new part of him. It's a sweet, sweet side of him that not a lot of people have seen before.

Blake Saunders is the new guy. He's mysterious with secrets. Lots of them. I didn't like him at all. Well, at first, I sort of liked him. But then, when the secrets got out, I hated him. I can't say anything without spoilers.

The plot was well developed. It placed everything perfectly. We don't get a filler novel, like so many books.

And the ending. Talk about a cliffhanger!

The wait for Opal will kill me. If its even half of Onyx, I'll love it.

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Obsidian By: Jennifer Armentrout

Five Stars: Perfect

This won't let me change the font to the normal font. So annoying!

Goodreads Summary:

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is.
 

Jennifer Armentrout has just become one of my favorite authors. After reading Half-Blood, I immediately checked if she had written anything else.  Obsidian came up, and when I checked it, I wasn’t eager at all to read it. I hated aliens. So I put her works to the side and began reading other things. One hot summer day, I was bored and decided to give this a try. I’m so glad I did. From the first page, I was sucked in.

Katy doesn’t whine about unimportant things, but she isn’t too cocky either. I love the fact that she is a blogger, and actually knows what she is doing. It isn’t like some books where authors pretend to know facts and hope that nobody finds out that she knows nothing about the subject. 

Daemon is the love interest in this book. The first time I “saw” him, I thought I might not like him. I thought, “Oh God. She’s gonna let him walk all over her. Then, I’d have to hate her! ” Well, Katy surprised me. She has an inner fire that roared to life.

Sometimes, I found Daemon very infuriating. Why was he so annoying? Why couldn’t he be nice? I knew that he had a layer underneath the douchebag layer. Reading the extra point of views from him made me finally understand.

The plot was very well executed. Everything was very well placed. Jennifer Armentrout made the characters stay tangible. The writing seemed real, and it sounded like what a teenager would say.  I think the word someone from Goodreads used was authentic. This was a funny book, and it had me smiling and grinning most of the time.

Go out and by this book. Now.

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